Neurosyphilis differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Mohamadmostafa Jahansouz M.D.[2]Tarek Nafee, M.D. [3]

Overview

[Disease name] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], [clinical feature 2], and [clinical feature 3], such as [differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

OR

[Disease name] must be differentiated from [[differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

Differentiating X from other Diseases

• [Disease name] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], [clinical feature 2], and [clinical feature 3], such as [differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].
• [Disease name] must be differentiated from [[differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

• As [disease name] manifests in a variety of clinical forms, differentiation must be established in accordance with the particular subtype. [Subtype name 1] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], such as [differential dx1] and [differential dx2]. In contrast, [subtype name 2] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 2], such as [differential dx3] and [differential dx4].

Neuroyphilis has an extensive differential diagnosis.

Diseases	Diagnostic tests				Physical Examination					Symptoms			Past medical history	Other Findings
	Na+, K+, Ca2+	CT /MRI	CSF Findings	Gold standard test	Neck stiffness	Motor or Sensory deficit	Papilledema	Bulging fontanelle	Cranial nerves	Headache	Fever	Altered mental status
Neurosyphilis		✔	↑ Leukocytes and protein	CSF VDRL-specifc CSF FTA-Ab -sensitive	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔		✔	Unprotected sexual intercourse, STIs History of multiple sexual partners. History of genital ulcer (chancre), diffuse maculopapular rash.	Blindness confusion, depression, Abnormal gait
Brain tumour		✔	Cancer cells	MRI		✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔		Cachexia, gradual progression of symptoms
Wernicke’s encephalopathy			Normal				✔	✔			✔		History of alcohal abuse	Ophthalmoplegia, confusion
CNS abscess		✔	↑ leukocytes >100,000/ul, ↓ glucose and ↑ protien, ↑ red blood cells, lactic acid >500mg	Contrast enhanced MRI is more sensitive and specific, Histopathological examination of brain tissue	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔	✔	History of drug abuse, endocarditis, ↓ immune status	High grade fever, fatigue,nausea, vomiting
Electrolyte disturbance	↓ or ↑			Depends on the cause						✔		✔		Confusion, seizures
Subdural empyema		✔		Clinical assesment and MRI	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔			✔	History of relapses and remissions	Blurry vision, urinary incontinence, fatigue
Delirium tremens		✔		Clinical diagnosis		✔	✔		✔	✔	✔	✔	Alcohol intake, sudden witdrawl or reduction in consumption	Tachycardia, diaphoresis, hypertension, tremors, mydriasis, positional nystagmus,
Subarachnoid hemorrhage		✔	Xanthochromia	CT scan without contrast	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Trauma/fall	Confusion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting
Stroke		✔	Normal	CT scan without contrast		✔	✔		✔	✔		✔	TIAs, hypertension, diabetes mellitus	Speech difficulty, gait abnormality
Viral encephalitis		✔	Increased RBCS or xanthochromia, mononuclear lymphocytosis, high protein content, normal glucose	Clinical assesment	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔	✔	✔	Tick bite/mosquito bite/ viral prodome for several days	Extreme lethargy, rash hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, behavioural changes
Herpes simplex encephalitis		✔		Clinical assesment			✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		History of hypertension	Delirium, cortical blindness, cerebral edema, seizure
Drug toxicity											✔	✔		Lithium, Sedatives, phenytoin, carbamazepine
Conversion disorder				Diagnosis of exclusion		✔		✔		✔	✔	✔		Tremors, blindness, difficulty swallowing
Febrile convulsion			Not performed in first simple febrile seizures	Clinical diagnosis and EEG					✔	✔	✔	✔	Family history of febrile seizures, viral illness or gastroenteritis	Age > 1 month,
Hypoglycemia	↓ or ↑			Serum blood glucose HbA1c		✔				✔		✔	History of diabetes	Palpitations, sweating, dizziness, low serum, glucose